Jermaine Phillips | Defensive Back

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The charges against free agent S Jermaine Phillips have been reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor.

Phillips was arrested back in January on felony charges of "domestic battery by strangulation." On Friday, the charges were reduced to simple battery. These developments could stir some interest for Phillips on the open market, as he had a clean record prior to this incident. Mon, Mar 8, 2010 08:37:00 AM

This won't help his market value, which was already likely to be minimal for the 31-year-old safety/linebacker. Phillips is being held in a Hillsbrough County jail without bond. He finished 2009 on I.R. with a broken thumb. Sun, Jan 10, 2010 09:03:00 PM

According to Bucs beat writer Stephen Holder, Jermaine Phillips' NFL career is in trouble.

Phillips is out for the season with a "mangled" thumb that needs to be rebuilt. Phillips will be 31 when the 2010 season starts and Holder says it's a question whether the Bucs or any other team would commit to a player that is hurt so often. Thu, Sep 24, 2009 10:00:00 AM

Bucs placed FS Jermaine Phillips on injured reserve with a broken left thumb.

Phillips was originally thought to be out for 6-8 weeks, but the Bucs decided to end his season after further examination of the thumb. Phillips, who was forced to settle for a one-year deal as a free agent, has broken three bones in his arms and hands over the past two seasons. The Bucs secondary will continue to struggle at least until Tanard Jackson returns in Week 5. Tue, Sep 22, 2009 05:57:00 PM

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This won't help his market value, which was already likely to be minimal for the 31-year-old safety/linebacker. Phillips is being held in a Hillsbrough County jail without bond. He finished 2009 on I.R. with a broken thumb.

According to Bucs beat writer Stephen Holder, Jermaine Phillips' NFL career is in trouble.

Phillips is out for the season with a "mangled" thumb that needs to be rebuilt. Phillips will be 31 when the 2010 season starts and Holder says it's a question whether the Bucs or any other team would commit to a player that is hurt so often.

Bucs placed FS Jermaine Phillips on injured reserve with a broken left thumb.

Phillips was originally thought to be out for 6-8 weeks, but the Bucs decided to end his season after further examination of the thumb. Phillips, who was forced to settle for a one-year deal as a free agent, has broken three bones in his arms and hands over the past two seasons. The Bucs secondary will continue to struggle at least until Tanard Jackson returns in Week 5.

Tampa Bay's defensive backfield has been getting ravaged by tight ends and it will likely continue until FS Tanard Jackson's four-game suspension ends in Week 5. Will Allen figures to draw the starts in Weeks 3 and 4.

Despite being moved from linebacker to defensive back just a few days ago, Jermaine Phillips started at free safety for the Bucs Thursday night.

Nothing like on-the-job training. Phillips did play safety for his whole career up until this spring, but new defensive coordinator Jim Bates has installed a new system. The Bucs were forced to move Phillips back to safety because of Tanard Jackson's suspension and there will be an adjustment period while Phillips gets up to speed.

The Bucs have moved Jermaine Phillips from linebacker back to safety, at least for the first four regular season games.

Geno Hayes will likely start at weak-side linebacker. The move is due to FS Tanard Jackson's suspension, but Phillips is now up to 230 lbs. and will be one heavy defensive back. Sabby Piscitelli will likely kick to free safety, with Phillips on the strong side. The Bucs' secondary threatens to struggle early.

The Bucs' coaching staff is reportedly pleased with Jermaine Phillips' conversion from safety to weak-side linebacker.

Phillips, who previously succeeded John Lynch as Tampa's strong safety, has more big shoes to fill following stalwart WLB Derrick Brooks. Still, don't expect Geno Hayes to go down without a fight. Phillips will have to earn it.

The St. Petersburg Times projects converted strong safety Jermaine Phillips to open training camp as the Bucs' starting weak-side linebacker.

That means he'd be ahead of speedy second-year man Geno Hayes. Phillips admitted in May that he had a "long, long way to go" in his position switch, so don't consider him a lock. If Phillips beats out Hayes and maintains DB eligibility in IDP leagues, however, he'll be a very intriguing fantasy pick.

Jermaine Phillips says he still has a "long, long way to go" in his transition from strong safety to weakside linebacker.

If the transition takes, Sabby Piscitelli will move into the starting lineup at strong safety. There remains a decent chance that the Bucs will ditch the experiment and send Phillips back to his natural position.

The Bucs will experiment this offseason and move him back to safety if it doesn't work out. Phillips is a hard hitter, but he'd have to bulk up to make the transition. Last year's sixth-rounder Geno Hayes and 2007 sixth-rounder Adam Hayward are the other candidates for the starting weakside job.

Phillips received little free agent interest, with only the Chargers and Seahawks sniffing around. Instead he'll return to compete for playing time with Sabby Piscitelli. Phillips can still deliver a blow, but he's 30 now and the Bucs didn't draft Piscitelli in the 2007 second round to ride the bench. It's likely to be an open competition.

Free agent S Jermaine Phillips has set up visits with the Chargers and Seahawks.

He'd play over Clinton Hart in San Diego and might allow Deon Grant to kick to free safety in Seattle. It seems like Jim Mora wants to get Brian Russell out of the starting lineup. Phillips, 30, is a candidate for short-term offers.

Both are expected to reach free agency. Phillips has been a productive strong safety, but he's going on 30 and has played all 16 games just once in the past five years. The Bucs have Sabby Piscitelli ready to take over. Clayton, 26, is now appreciated more for his blocking abilities than receiving work.

Humphries has practiced on a limited basis the last two days but remains in the league's concussion protocol. Tampa Bay's receiving corps is paper-thin right now with Humphries and Cecil Shorts (knee) both sidelined. Mike Evans and Cameron Brate should draw most of the targets from Jameis Winston in Week 14.

Myers has one year left on his contract at a $1.75 million salary. He's behind Austin Seferian-Jenkins, youngster Cameron Brate, and Luke Stocker on the depth chart. Myers posted a 12-127-0 line on 321 snaps last season.

Sweezy spent the first half of the season on reserve/PUP and isn't healthy enough to practice, let alone play in games. Sweezy was extremely slow to recover from April back surgery, undoubtedly suffering setbacks in his rehab. The Bucs signed Sweezy to a five-year, $32.5 million contract in 2016 free agency.